Turning to look into her eyes, he knew she was right about enjoying their last moments of peace. They had just a few hours before all hell would break loose. He took her in his arms, instantly forgetting all his woes and worries.
* * *
The next day was even more anxious than the last. Sensors were reporting that the vast ship they had detected from the beginning was closing fast on Earth. The vessel that attacked the Moon colony had disappeared, with experts widely predicting that it had put down on the Moon to continue their conquest of the colony. The LaGrange star bases had been hastily abandoned after the Moon colony disaster, with the tens of thousands of inhabitants arriving at major star ports across the planet. For all of humanity’s drive for the stars, they once more found themselves running back for Earth.
The Major was called to a briefing soon after breakfast, the General’s driver was sent to pick him up, something he was becoming familiar with. He entered the briefing room to find twenty officers. The lowest rank in the room was a Colonel, but most wore stars about their uniform. This was a gathering of some of the most significant leaders of the country.
“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.
“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.