Cheap space destroyers, infinite manpower supply, and deadly new weapons were poised to ruin Mars’s day. With Earth’s invasion fleet perched over Mars’s two small moons and the invasion launch order imminent, Mars feverishly worked to buttress up its defenses.

There was a hopeful hint that Earth was not quite ready, and that made the Martians celebrate in the streets. Dancing with joy, crowd after crowd, brought the people of Mars closer together. There was something terrifying about the Earth fleet that hovered over the red planet and threatened to swoop in for the attack. Not only was the fleet terrifying, becoming more visible and ominous in the sky than ever before, but the projection of this danger was also increasing. Shown on Martian TV was the ever-present wide camera angles of the global news networks, based on Crimson Hills City. The earthlings were so feared that they became unto gods.

In a bold move stolen from Napoleon’s war handbook, Martian Command sent up a fleet of balloons to the upper atmosphere. These green and purple balloons, made to look like harmless meteorological tools, floated up to the sky and then detonated in bombs. The shockwaves that were produced by the explosions from the balloons, took out half of the earth fleet. The emphasis of the attack was on surprise more than effectiveness. With the earth fleet basically crippled and the United Nations enraged, the invasion of Mars was delayed by two days.

There was something grim about the beamed offer the next day from earth that came over the shortwave receiver and resolved on Martian Command computer screens. Waiting a few minutes to scan it, they should have it ready in a few hours.

Luck plays a major part in military affairs. Sometimes, however, as the British discovered during the Battle of Britain, persistence is key.

Solidly confident and sublimely lucky, the Martians awaited Earth’s next attack.

The first sign of a renewed invasion was a little one and gradually become bigger over the following weeks.

While Earth dawdled, the Martians were preparing their counterattack. Several nukes were aimed at North America’s largest cities. Though it was against the Geneva Convention to attack civilians from space, the Martians had no choice. As the Earth was watching arrogantly, Mars lobbed five big bombs at them. That display of force, naked and supreme, turned the tide.

Somehow, a lone, unguarded Martian destroyer made it into Earth’s orbit. This feat of navigation was plotted by Admiral Lonesy, a man with one eye missing and half his teeth gone. The ugly genius was responsible for the tactic of war that would smash open this campaign wider than the gates of hell.

With the sun shining brightly over Washington, a Martian probe landed gently in the neighborhood of the Capitol. It rolled over, settled on its port side, and extended a metal arm, thin and fragrant, into the American air. Carefully positioned was the arm over the Potomac. A nerve toxin shot out into the water with a power that seemed amazing. Landing with a plop in the polluted water, and leaving no trace but a few ripples behind — the water soon returned to its placid sheet-of-glass shape — it was clear that the Martians were going to win.

While the nerve toxin sank and spread in the water, the Americans gorged themselves on fast food and watched television to their heart’s content. In a colossally dangerous move, they opened their doors and windows to let in the fresh spring air. Suddenly, without warning, a wave of gas entered all their homes, revealed to be lethal when they abruptly began choking, gagging, and screaming. Americans were dying everywhere. Lodged in their throats was a gas that prevented the lungs from working. This killed millions in mere minutes.

A happy and enthusiastic Admiral Lonesy clapped his hands. There was a flash of light and the leader of Mars appeared by teleportation. He bowed to the admiral, who sat proudly, staring at the destruction of Washington on the viewscreen. Lonesy, who had never liked the Americans, took no shame in killing their innocents. His theory was that the fewer the Americans, the weaker the Earth as a whole.

The armies of Earth, scattered around six continents and awaiting their orders, soon got what they wanted: a declaration of war from the UN president. Incredibly eager, and armed to the teeth with new weapons, they launched into space. The scattered bits of Martian resistance were old freighters, asteroid mining domes, and rogue laser guns floating around in space. Earth crushed Martian destroyers, battleships, and cruisers with ease. On their way to the red planet, Earth dropped troops on a dozen asteroids to secure them for the UN. But — crucially — this gave the Martians time to prepare.

Outside the Martian moons, a battle station was ready to deliver a death-blow to the invading earthlings. There was something eerie about the steel torus that rotated in the distant Sol light and bristled with moving weapons. There was a vast sword, 20 meters high, painted on the main airlock of the battle station. Decorated by professional artists, it looked beautiful in the deadly light.

Unfortunately, it was all too easy for the earthlings to evade the Martian defensive-offensive battle station. They only had to make an orbit around the far side of the world, where they were sheltered from the battle station’s massive potential power. Then, they could launch their attack.

The Martians were desperate, and in their desperation, they yielded to the nervousness of those whose very lives are at stake. They made a mistake. Instead of running for the hills (there were a few hills near populated areas), they stayed and prepared to fight for their land, their freedom, their future. The earthlings made short work of them. In no time, the Martian freedom-lovers were destroyed and bombed back to the stone age. Maybe this would curse the Earth, as it had other conquerors. More likely, however, as the Indians found out in New Amsterdam, death was inevitable.