“The unidentified enemy made no attempt at communication, nor responded in any way in the attempts we made. They attacked relentlessly. Their smaller ships use a type of chameleon camouflage tech. Their ships, both large and small, are faster than anything we have in space. Their soldiers wear heavily armoured suits which stand over two metres tall and use some kind of energy weapons which burns through the best of our armour at close range.”
He looked again at them all, but there was no response, no questions.
“Our small arms could only damage the enemy in a few number of weak points. Based on what I have seen, they intend to conquer our entire civilisation. I saw no mercy, no intention to enslave our people or take hostages. They are coming for us.”
The room was still eerily silent as everyone tried to digest the difficult information they were being dealt. Finally the President of the United States stood up.
“Thank you, son, you’ve done a fine job. I’d hope we’d not need you for further combat duties, but I am sad to say it is almost certain that we will. Be sure to provide the General with any recommendations on equipment and I will do my best to get it supplied on an emergency basis.”
“Thank you, Mr President.”
“That’ll be all, Major, please see to your wounded and be ready for a full debrief when I am done here,” General White ordered.
Taylor saluted and strolled back out of the room, leaving the Prime Minister with the rest of the delegates from around the world. Stepping out into the daylight he was greeted by a most unexpected sight, Captain Charlie Jones.
“Major, you look like hell!”
Neither man saluted the other. They were beyond the point where either felt it was necessary. Their countries’ regulations did not strictly require it of foreign personnel either. Instead the Major outstretched his hand in friendship. The British Captain studied his burnt armour in surprise.
“What are you doing here, Captain?”
“Additional security detail for Brigadier Dupont of the EUA. So they gave you a hard time I hear?”
“They? Haven’t we got a name for them yet?” asked Taylor.
“Well our intelligence is still lacking. The word ‘aliens’ is floating around the base, but none of the top brass is keen to entertain the notion. Many are still holding onto the idea of it being some terrorist or extreme faction on Earth that is trying to flex its muscles.”
“Not a chance, you should have seen them, Charlie. They resemble nothing that exists on Earth or any of our bases and colonies.”
“Word has it there’s a far larger force en route for us, any idea how long they’ll be?”
“Based on what I’ve seen, we’ve got a few days at most until their main force gets here.”
“Christ, so we could be war before the week is out?”
“Sorry, Charlie, but you’ll have to excuse me, I’ve got a number of wounded that I need to call on before the General starts his debrief.”
“Of course, good to see you made it out.”
Taylor nodded and continued on to the General’s jeep. He climbed aboard, much to the surprise of Sergeant Gibbons.
“Take me back to the hospital, Sergeant.”
The man tried to turn and argue with the Major, but when he made eye contact with Taylor it became clear that it would be folly. If nothing else, the officer looked ready to strike him if he didn’t do as ordered.
Visiting the wounded was a painful experience for Taylor, not only having to see men he considered friends in pain, but to know that many more would follow them when they went back into action. He could see that many officers and politicians still believed that they could avoid war, but he knew already that it was a conflict they could not avoid.
The rest of the day was spent in a briefing room with General White and several other staff. They went over the same events time and time again. The reality was that he did not have much more to say than he’d said hours before to the worldwide delegates. There was nothing he could say to them to convey the spine chilling evil that the enemy invoked. At every opportunity the interrogators tried to find a way to support their theory that they were mere humans with advanced and experimental technology.
Finally Taylor was released to go back to his quarters to rest for the night. The base was still on high alert and that meant guard duties for all units on base, with double security at the entry points. He staggered into the officers’ block. The tall apartment building housed all the officers of his battalion. Their individual homes were a decadent luxury compared to the accommodation of the rank and file. He tapped in his security code to the entry pad and went into his hallway. He stopped abruptly to at the sight of the lights being on. Even if he had left them on, they automatically shut off an hour after leaving the room empty.
The Major’s hand reached quickly to his handgun and drew it into a two-handed grip. Adrenaline flowed through his body and his heart pounded. After the frightful slaughter he’d witnessed on the Moon colony, the thought of his own home being invaded was deadly. He took the bend around the hallway leading to his living room, quickly snapping around the corner with his pistol held ready to fire.
Fearing the worst, he was met by Parker sitting on his sofa with a cold beer in her hand. He sighed as he lowered his pistol, realising that his paranoia would soon lead to a heart attack. The beautiful Sergeant was still wearing her BDU trousers tucked into her bulky combat boots. She wore a tight fitting tank top, hugging her toned body. She looked like she’d come right from a day’s work, but had let her lightly curled hair down over her shoulders. She sipped back on her beer casually and finally spoke as he stood speechless.
“Not here to kill you, Major.”
He lowered his pistol and slipped it into the holster fitted to his leg. He knew that it was as romantic a gesture as he’d ever see from Eleanor. There were no candles, no mood lighting and no fancy music. He didn’t mind though, he simply didn’t have the energy to put up with such complexities.
“You know this is a bad idea, Sergeant?”
“Yes, Sir,” she replied.
“And yet you’re still here?”
“The world’s going to shit, Sir. We’ll probably be in combat within days, may as well make the most of the free time we have.”
Taylor relaxed and felt his shoulders lower slightly as his body accepted there was no longer any danger, at least in the form of an attacker. He went over to the fridge and opened the door, looked at what little it contained. He reached for a beer, but as he did so he felt Parker’s hands on his back, wrapping around his body. He knew it was a mistake to fraternise with anyone he worked with, let alone an NCO, but he was too tired to care about the dangers.
Turning to look into her eyes, he knew she was right about enjoying their last moments of peace. They had just a few hours before all hell would break loose. He took her in his arms, instantly forgetting all his woes and worries.
The next day was even more anxious than the last. Sensors were reporting that the vast ship they had detected from the beginning was closing fast on Earth. The vessel that attacked the Moon colony had disappeared, with experts widely predicting that it had put down on the Moon to continue their conquest of the colony. The LaGrange star bases had been hastily abandoned after the Moon colony disaster, with the tens of thousands of inhabitants arriving at major star ports across the planet. For all of humanity’s drive for the stars, they once more found themselves running back for Earth.
The Major was called to a briefing soon after breakfast, the General’s driver was sent to pick him up, something he was becoming familiar with. He entered the briefing room to find twenty officers. The lowest rank in the room was a Colonel, but most wore stars about their uniform. This was a gathering of some of the most significant leaders of the country.