From the diary of the Lt-Captain Afonso Miranda Teles, Captain of the Light Cruiser "Cidade de Lisboa" and Commander of the Venus Expedition:
June 26, 1912.
As soon as the Svan'anse, the picket Ainduren ship closed in signalling the Martian advance on Venus, our fleet moved to intercept it. The clash would be fatal. But how fatal and to whom, anyone's guess was as good as mine. Suddenly we saw them. Thirty two ships moving slowly and circulating our bow. Would that mean that they had a better way to detect us? Couldn't thing about that at the moment and wouldn't. Our fifteen ships start deploying like giant whales in the aether. In a line behind “Cidade de Lisboa”, the five Karroom cruisers wheeled at my mark, moving to intercept the transport ships, while all the other ships in two flotillas prepared to engage the small Martian destroyers. For a moment everyone fell silent and against the sound of machinery I could hear someone praying. To what deity, I thought, for now we would have to add more gods to the big Earth pantheon.
The first clash seemed unimportant at first view. The Frigate “Moçambedes”, followed by the Brazilian Destroyer “Petrópolis” and two Ainduren Frigates traded several salvoes with seven Martian Destroyers. The columsn passed each other without any visible damage. Our ships wheeled way from the big Martian ships, trying to withdraw them from us. I looked through the spying glass to the other formation and suddenly understood the power of the main Martian weapon. As the Destroyers “Howard”, followed by the Freighter “Calgary”, now retrofitted as a mine layer, and the three Ainduren Frigates, reached the other Martian line, one of the Martian Destroyers fired its main weapon. A gigantic spinal mounted heat ray. It melted the “Calgary” at mid-ship, detonating the mines and destroying the Canadian ship almost immediately. From my throat a groan must have escaped for all my crew looked at me frightened. There's nothing to do now, I thought. “Stay away from those ship's bow”, I said aloud, “and relay that information to the Karroom.” And the crew forgot the fear they felt and start working. The battle had been joined and now we could only hope.
As the cargo ships start getting bigger in our windows, the six destroyers that were still protecting them turned against us. As we had decided earlier, we concentrated fire in the first one and kept our course steady, moving towards the behemoths. Several heat rays hit “Cidade de Lisboa”, and the damage was pilling higher, but while I was receiving the damage reports, my eyes didn't left the great transport ships. The real threat was there, inside it. And then, after what seemed to be a long time, we were at range. From the bow of the Karroom cruisers, the suicide torpedoes were launched. Brave, brave Karroom, I thought. Moving with a surprising agility, the small crafts moved towards the Martian ships and too late the destroyers understood what that meant. First a wave of five, then another and another yet, exploded against the great ships. Seven Martian vessels erupted in the Aether like dying sea animals, losing momentum and direction. And one other moved away, hurt and trying to escape. The other five wheeled away from our ships and from the planet, trying to regain the protection of the Martian satellite. And only then, with Venus momentarily saved, we turned our attention to the six destroyers that were eating at us. “Cidade de Lisboa” seemed to start singing, as our guns fired shot after shot after shot against the small Martian ships. One by one, the power of our bigger ships silenced the Martians Destroyers and we moved to help the rest of our fleet, the smaller ships that supported the brunt of the enemy forces. And we couldn't have arrived sooner. The “Petrópolis” was a little less that a wreck, limping away from the battle and from the five Ainduren ships, only two were moving in the Aether. “Moçambedes” and “Howard” were still fighting and moving away, still withdrawing fire from us. In the Martian fleet, I could still count eight Destroyers that seem to be combat ready. Not good, I fear. And as our arrival gave a respite to all in the battle, both parts seeming needed to organize their ranks.
Shielding behind us, the four remnant ships faced again the enemy. “Petrópolis” was moving away already distant from the battle and then we saw what the Martians intended to do. The eight Destroyers joined the remaining transport ships, five in number, and once again they moved towards Venus. Wheeling away from us and gaining speed, they saw they could arrive to Venus before we could intercept them. And if they can do it, I thought, half heartedly, while I shouted to bring us to full speed. Our fleet speeded up, moving to intercept the Martians, but they were faster than us and Venus grown in sight. And then it happened.
The Martian fleet hit full speed the sea of mines that the “Petrópolis” had been seeding for weeks in the Aether. Dozens, hundreds of explosions lighted up the already bright space. Almost at the same time six Martian ships exploded. And then another two. Our sailors shouted with joy and as we speed down the fleet and got near, to find out a big field of wreckage. Two destroyers limped away and even further another two accompanied a transport ship that dived into the planet. Just one and still the damage it can do is immense, I thought. But I can't worry with that now. The armies in the land must take care of that problem. At my order we attacked mercilessly the two destroyers and we retired to rearm and repair.
Then I added up the parts. One transport ship and two destroyers went to the planet and another transport returned to the satellite. We have ten ships. The victory was so overwhelming that all my body start shaking with the magnitude of it. This battle was ours, but the war is not over and if the Martian dropped some venom has they done the last time, it might be already lost...
