No Hotel California
Captain Thornton and his company had been fighting Chinese, Japanese, Indonesian and Indian soldiers in the city of Los Angeles for nearly three months. In that timeframe, most of the suburbs that make up LA and the downtown had been torn to pieces by the block-to-block and house-to-house fighting. The enemy knew their situation was hopeless; they were effectively cut off from reinforcements and supplies, yet they would not give up. Many of the Japanese forces his company encountered were surrendering, but the others fought on with a fanatical zeal his Marines had not seen since the battles in Israel. The Chinese knew they had lost this battle, but they were intent on destroying as much of the city and its people as possible.
As the Chinese soldiers lost a block or key portion of a city, they would destroy the sewer system on their way out of the area. In doing this, the enemy was effectively destroying the critical infrastructure of the city. The sewer systems allowed the city to transport water, sewage, and run-off from the rains. This disruption was designed to create an enormous mess for the Americans once they recaptured the city and began the process of rebuilding.
Because of the density of the city, it was difficult to make use of tanks and armored vehicles; they could be used on the roads, but when it came to clearing buildings and houses, the option was to either level them or send soldiers in to clear the structures and then move on. Often homes and buildings were being rigged with booby traps and explosives, which required a lot of engineers to clear them. If a unit clearing a house or building was not cautious, they could end up setting off an explosive, killing or injuring everyone in the squad. It was a terrifying experience for the soldiers having to perform this task.
Captain Thornton was sitting at his Tactical Operations Center (TOC), which was one of his Wolverine armored vehicles that had been converted into a command center. He was watching some drone footage of one of his platoons circling around a small group of enemy soldiers. They had finally cornered this group of fighters after they had ambushed and destroyed one of the Army’s tanks. As the platoon encircled the enemy, he radioed to the lieutenant in charge of the platoon, “LT, hold your men back, we are going to call in a couple of artillery rounds and flatten that building. Once the dust settles, send your men in and make sure they are dead,” he directed.
“Roger that, Captain,” replied the platoon leader.
Several minutes later, multiple artillery rounds flew in and hit the small apartment building, flattening it. The shell of the edifice was still there, although the roof and most of the walls had been blown out. Slowly, he could see his Marines moving forward, sifting through the rubble, making sure the enemy soldiers had been killed. After a few more days of cleaning out the enemy holdouts, the city was largely declared secured. There had been several engagements between the Marines and the enemy soldiers in the sewers, and though most of the enemy had been killed, it was suspected that some may survive and continue to fight sporadically. As far as Thornton was concerned, the city was effectively locked down. The few holdouts would be found and dealt with in time.
Launch
Despite the war raging on, plans for Operation Pegasus continued to progress and move forward. The minerals and resources of the Moon were greatly needed to create the necessary tools of destruction to win the war. Technology had so dramatically changed the way modern warfare was being fought; the need to stay one step ahead of an enemy was paramount to winning, especially when the odds were heavily stacked against you. The United States and her allies were facing a war against an enemy that had a population of 4.5 Billion people and a manufacturing capability of 63 % of the global GDP; trying to win on sheer manpower alone would have been lunacy.
While Dr. Karl Bergstrom and Dr. Peter Gorka walked through the HULK on their final inspection, they could not help but be in awe of what they had helped to build. The HULK had been a secret DARPA project for many decades; it was not until the development of the EmDrive and the Angelic power source that the venture had suddenly become a reality. Working with numerous private entities, NASA, DARPA and the DOD collaborated to build the HULK and the two transport ships that would move between Earth and the mining colony on the Moon. After nearly fifteen months of construction, around the clock building and fabrication by hundreds of thousands of workers, 3D printers and robotics, the HULK had been completed and was ready to expand man’s footprint in the universe.
As they walked through the hallways leading from one room to another, they saw dozens of engineers fastening bundles of wires to various sections of the inner wall, while others came behind them attaching the outer wall, sealing the wire bundles and the other guts of the ship together. It was a mad dash to the finish as the engineers and contractors completed the last details of the ship before the big test the following day.
Dr. Gorka could not contain his glee; the ship he had dreamed of building as a young child had finally come to fruition. In a couple of days, mankind was going to land on the Moon to establish the first of many off-world colonies. He attempted to contain his excitement as he began to examine the equipment that would be used for the mining operations.
That evening, the crew was going to be joined by several VIPs, including President Stein, for a celebratory dinner. In an unexpected move, the President asked to speak. “Some of you here in this room may not know, but when I was the governor of Florida, I took a flight into orbit with the CEO of SpaceX. From that moment on, I told myself that if I ever became President, I would do everything in my power to establish the first off-world colony and advance the exploration of space. You brave men and women that are here tonight are about to embark on a mission that will change the course of humanity. You will also be carrying with you the hope of the nation as we continue to fight for our survival. I have made a great gamble in dedicating so many resources on this project; please do everything in your power to make it pay off. I wish you all safe travels and Godspeed.”
The following week, the crew boarded the ship to begin their final examinations and preparations. The crew had successfully tested the engines and systems a couple of days ago; now that the equipment had been fully loaded up and the known bugs worked out of the system, it was time to launch.
Captain Luke Rogers still could not believe that he was about to lead the first human effort to colonize the Moon. He had been selected to be a part of this mission four years ago, prior to the start of World War III. He had almost given up his position on the project so that he could join his fellow comrades as they fought in the skies across the world. Many of his lifelong pilot buddies had died during the battles over the Middle East, Europe and Alaska. It had been difficult for him to stay focused on the Pegasus project while his friends were fighting and dying for their country. He had to keep telling himself that his mission was important as well; the country desperately needed the Tritium4 they were going to mine from the Moon if America was going to be able to win.
Captain Rogers had started his career as a pilot in the US Navy nearly 26 years ago; at that time, he had been selected to be an F35C fighter pilot, and excelled at it. He rose through the ranks quickly, until a car accident injured him and killed his wife. He and his wife had never had any children; after her death, he chose not to pursue any other relationships, and instead recommitted his life to the Navy. Due to his injuries, it was determined that he could no longer fly the F35, so he was transferred to the drone program instead. After a month of flying drones, he realized the capabilities of drones was going to eclipse that of manned aircraft, and did whatever he could to stay on the cutting edge of this new field. He quickly transferred to the DARPA Drone X project, and before he knew it, he found himself working on the Pegasus project. As someone who was both a drone operator and ex-fighter pilot, he had the skills DARPA was looking for when they began to search for the flight crew to pilot the HULK.