Preface - Part 1

I can still remember the escaping gas...

I fought in the Battle of Danube Plain. I was there when the Pwyll Guard tried to force us out of our cliff-side fortress by blasting a hole in our shielding and letting our oxygen escape. I was there when they attacked our airless base, and I was fighting with my last oxygen pack. I was there at Radebaugh Point where we were finally able to rout them and take the then provincial capital of Pele.

I met Maximilian Matthias, known then by his nom-de-guerre Ishmael, only twice. I saw him at one of his rallies in Prometheus when I was 16. His command and strength seduced me. Just by hearing his voice, I believed that we were being repressed. That the terrestrials were the enemies of freedom. That the only way we would be free would be to rise up. The second time was at Danube Plain, at the ripe old age of 19. This was maybe a few hours before the Europans assaulted our base in the canyon that bisects Danube Plateau. He gave no grand speeches to rally the troops, and seem distracted. To this day, I have no idea what must have been going through his mind as what seemed like the last hope for the revolution was surrounded and cowering in a small cavern. Given his actions after Danube Plain, I don't feel sorry for him if felt a little frightened of his precarious situation.

Fifteen years after the Ionian War of Independence, the effects can still be felt. A week before writing this preface, a man was dragged from his apartment and was brutally beaten and killed simply for displaying an Europan provincial flag. Every year, new laws are proposed to curtail the rights of or to outright expel Martians and Europans living on Io. The recrimination of Europans and Martians for the actions of their compatriots during the War even reached a point where for several years, Europan water was rejected in favor of locally-extracted sources. It was only after the Fredericks Mine on Mount Gish Bar dried up did the democratic Ionian government back down. Mention the Pywll Guard or the Tyre Brigade to any Ionian on the street, particularly those with obvious war injuries, and the only words you are likely to hear are not printable here (though the Tyre Brigade will likely include the word "Flying" and rest is unprintable). No member of the Pwyll Guard can set foot on Ionian soil without risk of arrest for war crimes related to their actions at Danube Plain.

I am not beyond this pettiness. Not a day goes by that I don't curse the Terrestrial government in Geneva who, rather than send a single Terrestrial soldier, sicked those Europan religious fanatics on us at Danube (and let's not get into what happened when they occupied my hometown of Gish Bar). Not a day goes by that I don't curse the Martians who fought beside us at the beginning when we were winning, but turned their backs on us when we needed them most. Like most Ionians, I cheer the heroes of the War every October 8th.

But as the crisis over water a few years ago showed, the pettiness has gone beyond mere words. I fear, with Europa's new found autonomy, likely granted for its support of the Terrestrial government during the War, we will be at war with Europa in ten years. Our ban on trade with Mars, the "financial gateway to the Solar System," has hurt our economy, which I fear will put us at risk for falling under the spell of madmen like Matthias.

I write this book to get over my own prejudices. I write this book because we need to move on from what happened during the War. Mistakes are made in war and to believe that even your own side can't make mistakes, is foolish.

This book is based on the events of the War of Independence, some based on my own experiences. The primary plot thread is fictional, though it does involve real people, like Matthias, President Samual Ikes, and Matthias' chief of staff Hector Boreas. The book is set in three parts. The first, Afterword, is set shortly before the start of the War and covers the run-up to the War on both Io and Titan. The second two parts, On Danube Plain and Nestor covers events during the War.