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“Two of the original Martian escort surrendered”
“Seriously?”
“They were too far fro hauess their command”
“Is it justus our asses on a plate?” Holden said, bringing the coffee ood, or do we all just suck a lot worse than I thought we did?”
Fred sipped the coffee “Ever heard of the Battle of Gaugamela?”
“No,” Holden said
“Darius the third, emperor of Persia, had two hundred thousand soldiers under his command Bactrians, Arachosians, Scythians Some Greek mercenaries On the other side, thirty-five thousand soldiers, and Alexander of Macedon Alexander the Great Five Persians to every Macedonian It should have been a slaughter But Alexander pulled so ap opened in the middle of the Persian lines Alexander called hiswith his own cavalry, he pushed through and headed straight for the e him But it didn’t matter, because he sa to reach Darius Alexander saw so no one else had seen
“These people? This little faction of the OPA? Between Earth and Mars and un them All this has happened because someone saw an opportunity that no one else did They had the audacity to strike where no one else would even have considered an attack That’s the power of audacity, and if a general is lucky and strong-e and keep the enemy on their back foot forever”
“You think that’s their plan?”
“It would bea play to control the Belt or the JovianIt takes a certain kind oflike that Charisma, brilliance, discipline It takes an Alexander”
“That sounds a little discouraging,” Holden said
Fred held up the coffee cup The name TACHI hadn’t quite worn off the side, red and black letters half-erased by use But not gone Not yet “I understand better no Darius felt,” Fred said “Having power, position, advantage Especially when you think you knoars work It blinds you to other things And by the time you see theht at you But that wasn’t how Darius lost”
“It’s not? Because the story you just told me sounded a lot like that’s how he lost”
“No He ran”
Holden drank From the crew quarters, the s rong That the patterns of the past were broken, and et killed if he didn’t, though Alexander would have killed him”