“Major Taylor, we have gathered here the leaders of almost all forces on the western seaboard, as well as representatives from east coast bases, Canada and the South America Union,” said General White.
Mitch stepped forwards to where they sat. There was no operations table, no scattering of intelligence information, simply a meeting of the minds. He looked at the almost empty table in surprise.
“As you can see, Major, we have little information to work on. Your first hand experience of this new enemy is all we have to go on, take a seat.”
As Taylor sat down the General hit a button bringing up a large screen at the far end of the table, with a map of the world displayed. Across it were listed the approximate quantity of troops, armour and ships across all countries of the globe.
“As we speak, every military and paramilitary force in the world is calling up troops to operational status. We will of course attempt to avoid war at all costs. The world has been ravaged by enough world wars, another could well be the end of us all.”
Another man spoke up, his uniform showed that he was a Lieutenant General.
“Son, we need to have some understanding of what to expect here and you are the highest ranking officer to have fought and survived this enemy. Based on what you have seen, and the intel we have shown you about the size of the vessel approaching, what would you expect them to do?”
“Major, this is Lieutenant General Smith.”
“General, I know you by reputation. Sir, I’m a ground officer, tactics for vast scale invasion are a long way from my understanding.”
“Please, just indulge us, Major.”
“Well, Sir, they aren’t a subtle enemy. They are big, bulky, well armoured and very aggressive. Their chameleon ship camouflage should not make you think they are stealth opponents. At the Moon colony they simply orbited with a carrier type vessel and began a ground assault the second they had arrived.”
“And what would you draw from that, Major?”
“I would expect much the same, on a much larger scale. The vessel that attacked the Moon colony was a fraction of the size of what’s heading for Earth. If they have the technology, I’d expect this huge vessel to break into Earth’s atmosphere.”
“Why?”
“It’s what I’d do, the atmosphere makes supply lines difficult to handle when carrying out a ground attack. If they can get these huge vessels into our atmosphere they will have constant access to carrier vessels, ammunition, personnel.”
“Major, our scanners show that this vessel is quite frankly vast, likely as large as many substantial countries.”
“I appreciate that, Sir, but we have to stop thinking about what is possible with our technology and start thinking what would we do if we were a hundred years ahead.”
The room went silent for a moment as the top brass were left speechless. Several poured water into glasses to clear their dry throats. Another General spoke up, he was wearing a Canadian uniform.
“Let’s just be certain about this, nobody is saying what this new enemy is. We don’t know where they have come from, they have technology far superior to our own and they have avoided or an unable to make contact with us. Nobody has yet called them anything but an enemy. Seems to me that we are talking about here is a foreign enemy, in other words, aliens.”
There was yet another uncomfortable silence as each and every one of thought about what they had all been wondering. It was preposterous for senior military personnel to believe in aliens. For centuries writers and moviemakers had fired the imaginations of people around the world with such wild and fantastical stories. However, they could not avoid the facts before them.
“Having witnessed this enemy first hand, I can say with every confidence that they can only be an alien life form,” said the Major.
“Okay, well at least we can agree to that, but what do we call the bastards?” asked White.
“Well, Sir, the name that’s floating around in my company is Mechs. The suits they appear to wear are crude mechanical devices, they joke about them being like the Ironclads of the Civil War.”
“Mechs? Well it’s a better name than anyone else can come up with.”
“If these so called Mechs do intend to enter our atmosphere as you predict, Major, where would they go with something so vast?”
“Well we still do not know the extent of their technology, they may have a means of keeping that hulk in the air. At this stage, General, your guess is as good as mine.”
General White got up from his chair and paced around the room behind the seats. He rubbed his chin and scratched his baldhead.
“Seems to me like we’re no further forward on understanding our enemy. Major, thank you for coming in. Keep your men on alert, we may well have work for you.”
Taylor stood up and saluted. He was glad to walk out of that room. A meeting with top brass was never a comfortable experience, and that had been the worst he had experienced. He knew that everything he said would be submitted to the President and all key officials. They were relying on him as an advisor, and yet he had very little to say.
Above all, the Major was afraid of this new enemy. Everyone feared the power, technology and mystery of the new foe, yet nobody was willing to admit it publically. He knew that a massive weight was being laid on his shoulders. No matter what happened over the coming days, he would always be called upon as a key commander in this new war of epic proportions.
Stepping out of the building, Mitch looked around the base. Eagle FVs passed overhead alongside fighter aircraft. There was a constant air presence over the base and a ten-kilometre radius. Armoured personnel carriers rolled around the roads, both on guard duties as well as testing. Every single vehicle and weapon on base was being serviced, checked and tested. Patrols on foot continued throughout the day in full armour.
In all his time as a marine, Taylor had never seen the base so alive and determined. Everyone had been briefed on the retreat from the Moon and the potential threat which faced all of them. All serving officers and enlisted men and women were called to the base. Their families had been moved onto the base, under the protection of the Corps.
He looked up into the beautiful blue sky. A light breeze blew as the sun warmed his camouflaged BDUs. It was the perfect day to be sitting on a beach or going for a swim. It was hard to imagine that they were facing a major disaster the very next day. Mitch looked to the General’s driver giving him a wave to say he would be not needed. A stroll back to his company quarters under the morning sun would be a welcome luxury while it was still possible.
Arriving back at the parade ground the Major found Suarez stood in front of eighteen marines who he didn’t recognise. He had a Mappad in his hands and was checking through a list. The Lieutenant looked up to see Taylor approaching and quickly called the men to attention and saluted his commander.
“Stand easy!” shouted Taylor.
“Major, these are replacements for the company.”
“So quickly? They must want us on the front line. New recruits?”
“No, Sir, transfers from other units, they have all served at least two years.”
The Major looked up at the Lieutenant in surprise. There was never a time when they would be sent so many experienced men at once. The top brass must consider his company as essential to future operations.
“Any volunteers?”
“Yes, Sir, all of them.”
Taylor turned to look at the men and women before him. From their posture each of them were confident and experienced marines. He moved along the line, carefully studying these new marines under his command. He stopped in front of an African-American woman who was as tall and broad shouldered as he was. Her eyes stayed ahead, her body unflinching under his gaze.