“Name?”
“Foster, Sir!”
“Well, Foster, you requested transfer to my unit, why?”
“Because I heard you were the best, Sir!”
He stepped back and paced up and down the line, finally turning back to the confident new men and women before him.
“Yesterday fourteen of this company were killed, nineteen wounded, four of which will never return to active service. As the only soldiers to have survived combat with this new enemy, the top brass sees us as a vital fighting force in what is likely going to be the largest war the world has ever known!”
He paced along the line, not a single marine commented or turned to face him, they were well disciplined.
“As part of this company you are guaranteed to see action, guaranteed the chance to die for your country. None of us get paid enough for this work, so let me ask you all, are you willing to give everything you have to give to the Corps?”
“Sir, yes, Sir!” they shouted.
“Tomorrow you could follow me into a war the likes you never imagined, I expect the very best from each and every marine in this company. We look after our own. Welcome to D Company!”
There was a solemn silence following his introduction. They were experienced marines, although not experienced combat troops. They knew they were replacing fallen soldiers, but it was a grim reality of war to be reminded of it.
The day continued as a laborious and exhausting wait. There was nothing they could do to plan other than to clean and maintain their equipment. Taylor tried to convince the stores to equip his company with a greater range of heavy weapons, but to no avail. The warehouses were near empty, having every unit equipped for combat. Gear was already spread thin. Taylor was quickly coming to realise that his company were already better equipped than any, having been given special privileges due to their service.
The night was a lonely and uncomfortable one. Parker was on guard for most of it. He knew she’d be thinking of him as she patrolled the base. He acted as if there was nothing serious between them, as she did, but they both knew it was more than just a casual thing. Despite hating seeing his marines be killed and wounded, he was still thankful to have his closest and most trusted friends beside him.
Finally the Major fell into an uneasy sleep in the middle of the night, only to be awoken by the base sirens just as the sun was rising. He leapt out of his bed, ready for anything. Sweat clung to him and his vest was clammy, but there was nothing to be done about it. Pulling on his BDUs the Major was out of the building within three minutes of being awoken, with his pistol at his side.
Stepping through the doors of the officers’ quarters he was confronted by the chaos of men rushing for their assembly points, the entire base had leapt into action. He looked up into the sky, but there was nothing of note. The sun was just piercing through the trees in the distance, beyond their vehicle training fields. There appeared to be no immediate threat. Before he could take a pace forwards the loudhailers fixed to every building rang out.
“All senior officers to the briefing centre!”
The command repeated a second time, but Taylor was already in full stride. Fifteen minutes later he sat among more than a hundred officers. The General was already waiting to brief them as they arrived. Normally there would be a deafening clatter of conversation, but not this time. The entire room was quiet as the last few officers shuffled into the room.
“ Good morning, gentleman!” shouted General White.
The room was absolutely fixated on the General, knowing that it was time for serious news. Taylor felt his stomach turn, knowing that it would be exactly the kind of news he was hoping he wouldn’t have to hear.
“The vast vessel which has been approaching us is now just out of Earth’s orbit. It has however, not stopped. All sensors suggest that this country-sized ship is going to break into our atmosphere within the next hour, which we have now designated UFO1.”
He sighed and looked around the room as everyone stared at him.
“As of this time, we still have no idea of the enemy’s tactics or intentions. However, what we have seen so far would suggest a hostile intent. This unknown force is technologically advanced and highly capable, we need to avoid war if at all possible. For now we focus on defensive measures only. I want all ground troops ready to move at a moment’s notice. Air cover will be in effect at all times for the foreseeable future.”
The General looked down at the datapad in his hands. It was clear that he was surveying what little information he had and feeling helpless to act.
“For now we can do nothing but wait and watch. We are as ready as we can be. ROE are to not fire unless fired upon. Let’s not start a war over a misunderstanding. That’ll be all!”
The officers shuffled out of the room in remarkable silence. Nobody had anything left to say. Many were left speechless at the very idea of an alien invasion, others were letting their imaginations run wild with the possibilities.
Forty-five minutes had passed and Taylor’s company had been posted half a mile outside the perimeter of the base. They had parked up the three trucks and two jeeps they’d been able to wrangle from the motor pool. It was a tight fit for the entire company to be carried in just five vehicles, with marines hanging off the sides as they drove. However, they were lucky, many units were entirely on foot, patrolling in the soaring heat.
The Major had ordered them to a halt a few moments before on the top of a small ridge overlooking the base and a small town in the distance the other side. He was sat on the bonnet of one of the jeeps, looking up at the sky and waiting to see the dreaded vessel. The piercing rays of the sun were putting him to sleep, until the radio of the vehicle rang out.
“Base to all units, UFO1 will be entering the atmosphere in approximately one minute!”
Taylor shrugged off his sleepiness and slipped off the vehicle’s bonnet onto his feet. None of his men said a word. Most had already witnessed the savage and ugly enemy, but they were still intrigued to see the vast phenomenon.
The company could only watch in awe as the vast vessel burst through the clouds to the west. It must have been hundreds or even thousands of miles away, but was clear for everyone to see. The ship was a dark charcoal, almost black. It did not have the smooth lines that a human vessel would use for entering the atmosphere, but the harsh outline of a city’s silhouette. They could make out little detail from the distance, except its vast engines. It was continuing east and well away from their base, a stark relief for all.
Taylor heard chatter coming from the vehicle, he walked back to his jeep to see that Suarez had got the news channel feeds on its display screen. He watched silently as cameras from all over the eastern seaboard tracking the behemoth as it soared easterly towards the Atlantic. The marines circled around the vehicle, as many of them as possible watching the screen, the rest listening quietly to the news anchor’s dialogue.
The news channel was electric in its excitement over the situation. The idea of extraterrestrial life was a dream come true for reporters. The marines of D Company knew better, in that nothing good would come of a hostile force landing on Earth.
Taylor and the rest of his unit were fixated on the screen. An hour had passed as they watched the continued video feeds. The press kept repeating the same things, not having any real information to give beyond the actual footage of the immense craft. It was covering ground at an immense speed and heading right across the Atlantic. It was not long before the news agencies lost all trace of it and went back to repeating the footage they had.
As the team watched open mouthed, the radio cut in and Taylor was suddenly brought back to reality. He was being called back to base, while his men were ordered to continue a sweep of the area for the next two hours before returning to base.