“Sir, we must fall back!” shouted Private Lewis.
Kelly looked around the corridor at the carnage. A number of his comrades were wounded, many more were dead or dying in the ground they had already fought over. They had put up a noble fight and had brought down many a foe, but he knew they were fighting a losing battle.
“I will not give up our homeland!”
“Sir, we’ve already lost it, all that’s left are the people!”
The Commander looked around in despair, a small trickle of blood dripped down his worn and tired face where the impact from an explosion had knocked him against an interior wall. His face was black with dirt and sweat, he ached in every bone and muscle in his body. He was almost brought to tears, knowing that they had lost everything they’d fought for.
Commander Kelly had been in charge of the Moon Defence Force for twenty-two years, a role that he had inherited from his father. Never could he have imagined that he would have to concede it to a technologically advanced alien race, which appeared to want nothing more but to execute them all.
“Alright, fall back to the bunker!”
The Private looked relieved as he sent out the command to their forces. However, it didn’t completely remove the worry from his face. No one knew if surrender was even a possibility against the iron army they fought. The Commander turned and led his men back to the re-enforced blast bunker.
As he approached the lines of dead and dying lining the corridors confronted him. Anyone still able to hold a gun was stood or propped up outside the blast doors. The men did their best to stand to attention as the Commander went past them, but many were gritting their teeth under the pain of their injuries. Kelly smiled back at them in appreciation, desperately trying to hide his sorrow.
He went straight up to the comms officer who was watching the video feeds that were still operational. He rubbed his eyes and squinted to make out what he was seeing from the rooftop cameras.
“It’s Colonel Visser, Sir.”
Kelly studied the video intently. The Colonel was standing on the roof of the government building in his compression suit. He wore no weapons and only held one object, a white flag slung on an l-shape pole.
“What the hell is he doing? He’s surrendering, or trying to!”
“Maybe we should join him,” said Lewis.
Before Kelly could respond he watched as a glimmer panned across the screen, an enemy vessel in its terrain mapping camouflage. The vessel landed on the rooftop just thirty metres from the Colonel. He still held the white flag high in both arms. The Commander hated Visser for being a coward earlier on in the fight, but now he hoped with all his heart that he would come to no harm.
The vessel’s chameleon device switched off as a door opened and three armoured aliens stomped out onto the roof. Visser stood his ground. They could see that he was trying to speak to them, under the hope that they might understand something of what he said, or at least his intentions.
Of the three armoured soldiers, the one at the front stood out from the rest. The armour was decorated with a golden coloured banding on the corner edges and painted with symbols that meant nothing to them. This creature held some form of authority over the rest.
“What are they doing, Sir?” asked Lewis.
“I don’t know.”
As the men watched the screens in both anticipation and fear, the lead alien lifted his arm and fired a small pulse weapon attached to his arm. The shot blasted straight through Colonel Visser’s chest and out the back, leaving a gaping hole. He died instantly. None of them said a word.
In that moment Kelly knew that their struggle was far from over. There was no surrender, no retreat. He turned to his men, thirty soldiers surrounded the desks, many more were waiting outside the bunker. He had a grim expression on his face. Gone was the warmness in his heart, replaced with shear hatred, all he had left was survival and revenge.
“There it is for you all to see! These bastards don’t just want our land. They want our lives! You have only two choices before you, lay down and die, or fight!”
The room remained silent as they all clung to his words. Many of their families were already dead and many more were unaccounted for. At fifty-eight years of age, Kelly never expected that he would ever have to lead a serious combat operation, let alone an army.
“This colony has endless underground corridors, bunkers and research tunnels. We can no longer hold onto ground, we can no longer fight in open war. Today we go underground. Tomorrow we fight back. Let no one be unclear here. The following days and weeks will be more horrific than any of you can imagine. Earth is at war and we have no rescue in sight. But I’ll be damned if I am going to die without a fight! Who is with me?”
Chapter 6
Major Taylor sat in his chair beside the senior officers on base. General White had just outlined the current situation. Spain and France had been invaded. Spain had taken the brunt of the attack, France had substantially more time to prepare and with a far greater number of operational EUA forces at hand. He had not heard news of Captain Jones, but he knew that he’d be on the front line.
“Spain has already lost fifty kilometres of its western coast. Early reports from France show that although the initial attacks were repulsed, they were at a dear price. The Americas have so far been lucky in avoiding invasion, but we cannot stay out of this conflict. The UEN forces are already involved in heavy fighting, we have a responsibility to act.”
“What are the President’s orders?” asked Smith.
“The President would avoid war at any cost as we well know. However, this is not like any war this planet has ever known. Whoever these hostile forces are, it is clear that they only want two things, our lands and our lives,” said White.
“We are at war, our friends around the world are dying as we talk, what are we prepared to do about it?” asked Taylor.
“I will remind you, Major, that you are here under an advisory capacity only,” said General White.
“Fine, Sir, then I advise an immediate strike against the alien ship, island, whatever the damn thing is.”
“Quite right, Major. The time has come to act. We have already lost men in this war. The President, under the advisement of the Chiefs of Staff, has passed on operational decisions to us, as well as given me control of the Nuclear arsenal,” General White answered him.
General Smith turned in shock.
“Nuclear?”
“This new enemy is gaining a substantial foothold in Europe, they have shown themselves to be a formidable enemy which could engulf the world if we do nothing. I am not asking for a vote here, I am informing you of my decision. I am authorising an immediate nuclear strike against the alien island, now designated as Tartaros, a hell that no man would wish to see.”
The General tapped a few buttons on his control pad and brought up a map of the world, Tartaros added in the Atlantic. The vast island had expanded to almost fifteen thousand kilometres in diameter. It was a shocking sight every time they had to look at it. The chilling image could only give a small taste of what it would be like to witness the horrifying development with one’s own eyes.
“Six of our nuclear depots are prepping for launch as we speak. The initial attack will contain twelve missiles launched from these six bases.”
“What are our projections for damage to this Tartaros?” asked General Richards.
“Honestly at this stage, we have no idea. We simply cannot sit by and watch these bastards continue unchecked. Our nuclear arsenal allows us to strike hard and fast, with maximum coverage. Obviously this Tartaros is now the size of many large countries. We have indicators of the best targets. This will be a test run. If it works, it will be immediately followed with everything we’ve got.”