General Schulz had been watching the progress of the battle over several display screens on the bridge of his vessel when it suddenly caught his eye.
“What the hell is that? Focus on that for me.”
The Navy officer quickly zoomed in on the scene, and Schulz looked in astonishment at the moving sight. The officer quickly tapped a key and displayed it on the main monitor for all on the bridge to see. At first, several looked confused at the sight of the two men and the alien atop the building. But the reason quickly sank in.
“They’ve done it!” one shouted.
Cheering rang out across the vessel. Schulz turned to his comms officer.
“Send word to the fleet. Mission accomplished! The Moon is ours!”
On the rooftop of the Parliament building, Kelly turned to Taylor and reached out his hand in friendship.
“I never thought I’d see the day, Major, let alone to see you are the one here with me.”
“I didn’t do this alone, Sir.”
Kelly nodded in agreement. He turned to the alien standing beside him.
“I didn’t catch your name?”
“Jafar.”
“I am in your debt. It will not be forgotten.”
He reached out and shook the alien’s hand that dwarfed his.
“This is a new dawn, Mitch. Humanity has taken back what is rightfully theirs. We have triumphed against all odds.”
* * *
Chandra looked down at the bodies of fifteen soldiers that had fallen, and a medic who was desperately working to save two others. They were cutting down their enemy in vastly greater numbers, and yet they continued to come. Then when she was starting to doubt if they could win, Jackson’s voice rang out.
“They’re running! They’re running!”
Chandra looked up to the ecstatic officer and rushed up to the edge of the defences to see for herself.
“My God, Kelly’s done it,” she whispered.
She turned back to the troops who were weary but in a frenzy of excitement.
“I won’t see one of those bastards escape this Moon. Kill them all!”
She lifted her rifle and leapt of the barricade, rushing forward and firing as she went. The troops screamed as they charged after her. An hour later, she was soaked in the enemy’s blood and stood satisfied that she had done as they had promised. She had lost friends that day, but at least she could feel she had given better than they got. Jones rushed down the corridor to greet her, stopping in shock at the thick blue blood that was sprayed across her body and dripping from the Assegai in her hand.
“It’s over, Chandra. We’ve won!”
* * *
Twenty minutes later, the troops of Inter-Allied lay about in the conference hall and surrounding rooms of the Parliament building. They had no idea where their lives went from there, but they were relieved. Eli lay stretched out in Taylor’s arms. She was cut and bruised but felt better than ever.
The Colonel finally strode in to meet Taylor. She had wiped the enemy blood from her face, but it was stuck like glue everywhere else. She looked down at the two of them and smiled to see they had made it through. Jafar and Tsengal sat among the troops as they’re own. They were engulfed in conversation with several of Taylor’s marines.
“I guess they came through, then?” she asked.
“More than you can imagine.”
A voice came over the tannoy throughout the whole colony. It was General Schulz.
“We have won a victory today of truly outstanding proportions. I want to thank every man and woman among you for your efforts. You have done everything that was asked of you and more. The invaders took humanity to the brink of destruction. Today we have clawed it back, and stand victorious!”
Cheers rang out and echoed all around the Parliament building.”
“Today we reclaimed what was ours. Tomorrow, we take the fight to their lands!”
Clapping and cheering rang out. The thought of getting real payback was appealing to them all. But Taylor now knew one thing for sure; there was no end in sight to their war.
Defeating the enemy on Earth had ended the first Earth War. Invading the Moon had started the second.