The Moon

Wartime memory

Early in the war with Mars, a Martian destroyer attacks a lunar helium-3 processing plant. Echo destroys the attacker and later remembers the engagement with remorse.[1]

Concealed approach

Echo waits in high orbit on the Moon's far side, deploying relay beacons to transmit around the obstruction. A shuttle carries the Earth delegation between the Moon and Earth in a matter of hours.[1][2]

Operational limits

Echo's position and the rotation of Earth prevented a direct laser shot at the aircraft attacking York. After the battle between Earth and Venus, Echo again retreated to the far side, where Brookes could still strike without warning.[4][5]

Shield and projectile

The Moon blocked the patrolling hawk's sensors while Echo remained on its far side. Engineers shaped a collected lunar boulder into a perfect sphere for a carefully calculated glancing strike. Later, Echo's destroyed rail-gun fragments were drawn toward the Moon during the hawks' assault.[6][8]

Related records

Sources

Simon Evans, The Flaxen Tyranny, first edition (2023). Page numbers refer to the printed pagination of the source edition.

1. Chapter 9 · pp. 63–68
2. Chapter 12 · pp. 83–89
3. Chapter 14 · pp. 102
4. Chapter 15 · pp. 111–112
5. Chapter 25 · pp. 212
6. Chapter 28 · pp. 227–231
7. Chapter 30 · pp. 246
8. Chapter 33 · pp. 273