According to Salen Kotch's plan, Mars was supposed to establish a blockade against Earth, starving it of food, water, and resources to build weapons and warships.
However, things didn't go as planned.
First, Earth's orbital defense system failed to shut down as scheduled, leading to a fierce battle in high Earth orbit between the Martian fleet that had traveled a long distance.
Then, his surprise attack on the Moon was thwarted by the Retribution, which had maxed out its damage control skills.
Why?
Salen Kotch desperately wanted to grab someone by the collar and ask why his plan had failed, but he couldn't.
As the supreme commander of the Eighth Fleet, he could easily execute a few high-ranking generals to pay for the previous failures, but what then?
Lamenting that his subordinates were all reckless hotheads, Salen Kotch could only turn his gaze to the screen in front of him.
War was a whetstone; in less than two days, the Martian Eighth Fleet had lost over 100,000 personnel, but many promising talents emerged from the surviving soldiers.
Especially during the lunar assault, the Eighth Fleet gained nearly sixty ace pilots.
These ace pilots could provide ample reserves for the heavily depleted fleet command, and with some training at the military academy, they could become excellent candidates for ship captains.
Of course, this was wartime, so training was out of the question.
After receiving their ranks, they would be sent back to the front lines!
...Saturn Sector
Two years ago, Titan, originally a crucial fuel source for Earth, came under Martian control, and Earth lost control of the Saturn sector.
The methane produced on Titan then became a catalyst for the Martian war machine.
Fisher stood by the bridge of the carrier *Poseidon*, gazing at the thick cloud layers below the warship.
Tens of millions of volts of lightning periodically erupted within the clouds, casting a yellowish-brown glow.
The massive body of the carrier, in front of the thick, planet-spanning clouds, seemed like an ant in the ocean, causing no ripple.
Below the clouds, the scene was entirely different from the calm Fisher had witnessed before.
Lightning traced long paths as it descended from the sky, and strong winds, laden with yellowish-brown ammonia, practically clung to the warship's surface.
On the ground, steep valleys and strange rock formations abounded, with hardly any plains visible.
Only ammonia waterfalls could be seen rushing down the slopes, and thick pipelines emerged from them, snaking through these valleys like giant serpents.
Those were the methane pipelines.
Titan was currently Mars's most important energy base, supplying methane fuel for all aspects of Mars.
Additionally, due to its harsh environment, Titan was also a crucial experimental base for the Martian Aerospace Research Institute.
Not long ago, Fisher finally met Salen Kotch, but the latter merely gathered a group of outstanding officers, delivered some platitudes, and after each received an additional star on their shoulder, these newly promoted blood were sent to Titan.
Because of continuous setbacks at the hands of the *Retribution*'s elite fighter squadron, Salen Kotch had no choice but to order the laboratory on Titan to mass-produce the new experimental Super Storm fighters.
Paired with ace pilots, he hoped to use this method to counter the UNSA, and Fisher was fortunate enough to be among the first pilots to receive these new fighters.
"Sir, we've arrived!" Just as Fisher was still watching the continuous stream of ammonia rain outside the window, a squad of fully armed assault soldiers entered the bridge and saluted the captain on the semi-floating bridge.
"Excellent, Lieutenant.
We will be receiving a batch of classified documents shortly.
I need you and your marines to guard the warehouse at all times until we reach Mars!
Understood?"
"Yes, sir!
We will guard the warehouse with our lives!" the marine responded loudly.
After the marines left, Fisher, pretending to be casual, walked over to the captain and requested to go down and take a look.
Due to Fisher's status as a pilot, the captain didn't think much of it, assuming he just wanted to see the new fighters sooner, and nodded, granting Fisher's request.
After donning his gear, Fisher immediately headed to the hangar, watching as several more futuristic-looking Super Storm fighters were brought in by flatbed carts.
However, what the soldiers present didn't notice was that Fisher's gaze remained fixed on a dark green safe being carried into the hangar by several robots on the other side, then taken to the adjacent warehouse.
Although he didn't know what was inside, Fisher knew it had to be something good.
During the handover with the lab personnel, Fisher had heard instructions about moisture protection, indicating that the safe likely contained classified documents, paper documents that only the institute would have.
As for why they were being transported by warship, if transmitted via signal, these classified documents could very likely be intercepted by Earth's deep-space sensors, and the thick cloud cover on Titan would also block signal transmission.
Determined to find out what was inside, Fisher remained in the hangar after the handover, examining the fighters and chatting with some new ground crew members.
After a few cigarettes and some mind-bending, these ground crew members quickly became sworn brothers with Fisher, and Fisher also learned what was actually in the box.
A batch of Storm fighter and hyperspace engine blueprints.
These were all highly classified items that should have been sent back to Mars for storage at the beginning of the war.
However, because Salen Kotch had pulled all combat vessels for his operational plans, the transport was delayed by a full two days.
Having obtained the specific material information, Fisher immediately came up with a bold plan: he would steal these classified documents.
After confirming his target, Fisher immediately began to formulate a plan.
There were fewer than a thousand personnel on this carrier, and fewer than two hundred combat personnel.
The marines guarding the warehouse numbered fewer than twenty.
As for the robots, Fisher could use his authority to shut them down.
After securing the documents, he could leave and pilot that Super Storm fighter away.
Anyway, the Star Beacon would be fully charged in less than two days, and the supplies he carried would be more than enough to last him through that time.
Since it only took one day for this carrier to travel from Titan to Mars, Fisher decided to make his move when the crew was resting at night.
However, to his surprise, it seemed he wasn't the only one with an eye on this carrier!