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?”
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.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
“We have to try, gentlemen. If for some reason a nuclear strike has no significant impact, then we’ll change tactics, improvise and overcome.”
“What about ground troops?” asked Taylor.
“At this stage every soldier in the country is on alert and ready to fight. How we use our forces will depend on the outcome of this strike,” White answered.
“What about Europe? It’s taking a beating!” Richards asked him.
“I am told that forces are being drawn from all across the continent to fight in France and Spain, for now they’ll have to manage. Now, launch is in five minutes, with impact approximately fifteen minutes after.”
“Jesus Christ, are we really doing this?” asked Smith.
“You’re damn right we are. People are dying every minute fighting against these bastards, it’s time to give a little back!” shouted White.
The room went silent as they all sat watching the huge screen, captivated by the launch countdowns next to each nuclear depot. The idea of using nuclear weapons was fearful for all of them. There had only been a handful of cases where they had been used previously in Earth’s history, and the results were always terrifying. The President called them a necessary evil but the few Generals who didn’t support his view were starting to come around.
The next twenty minutes were almost silent, with the very least of communication. The high ranking officers shuffled in their chairs, drank water to clear their dry throats and continued to watch the screen as the trails of the missiles sped across the sea. None of them ever thought that they would see the use of such weapons in their lifetimes, let alone to be the ones launching them.
General White pressed a few buttons on his control pad and the huge screen split to show several video feeds of the enemy island. The top left of the monitor continued to project the map showing the progress of the missiles. The group watched with baited breath, knowing that the President and the joint chiefs would be doing the same.
The nuclear weapon was still the most formidable weapon in the arsenal of Earth troops. With no major wars for so long, there had been few significant advancements made in weapons of war. Many believed no one wished to consider the development of a weapon that could destroy more than just a city. Other governments were unable to continue with such massive spending into weapons of mass destruction when they had plenty good enough ones already.
“What the hell is that?” asked Smith.
Taylor squinted to look at what they were seeing, realising quickly what it was. Dozens of aircraft were lifting off from one section of the enemy vessel, obscured by their scenery blending camouflage.
“Enemy ships, Sir, just as attacked the Moon colony,” said Taylor.
“What are they doing, Major?” asked White.
“I’d assume they are intercepting our nukes.”
White twisted around quickly and looked at the Major with a piercing glance.
“What? You think they intend to shoot our weapons down?”
“Of course, Sir. You think we are the only ones with scanners? Everything we have seen so far shows us that these aliens are significantly more advanced than us. What is maybe more of a concern is, if we have nukes, what have they got?”
The room went quiet again as they all stared intently at the screens. The missiles were just minutes away from impact. The officers could almost feel the sense of victory they so desperately wanted, but knew it was beyond their grasp. They’d all come to realise that the mission was already a failure, but they still held onto the hope that it would succeed.
The Generals watched in despair and horror as energy pulses were fired from the vessels, striking the nuclear missiles as they were fifty kilometres from the alien island. A number of the enemy craft were obliterated by the huge nuclear blasts, but it was a small loss for them. Many of the camera feeds went blank as the blasts destroyed the source of the signals.
General White shook his head, his face pale and distraught. The others watched the blank screens which displayed only static. The satellite signals showed Tartaros, it was unscathed by the incident.
“My, God,” said Richards.
“We only sent twelve, maybe with a larger spread they wouldn’t be able to catch them all?” asked Smith.
General White looked up, he was struggling to speak, and for the first time in his career, Taylor saw fear in the great leader’s eyes.
“Let’s see this for what it is. Those bastards have the defensive technology to stop a missile strike. Let’s move past it and see what we can do.”
Taylor still stared at the display screen of the world, wondering what they could do against such an enemy. His gaze panned to Europe and he began to wonder if his friend Charlie was still alive.
* * *
“Fall back! Go, go, go!” shouted Jones.
Light pulses zipped past their heads as the metal clad beasts and their monstrous armoured vehicles rolled through the streets. The defences to the south of Brest had fallen into disarray as the invaders were punching huge holes in their line. The French armour still remained in the city but were fighting a brutal battle of attrition.
Captain Jones looked around to see the survivors of their battalion running for their lives, he could just make out the fearful outline of the Mech soldiers stomping towards them in the distance and firing
unrelentingly into the fleeing troops. Major Chandra rushed up to Jones with blood hardened on her face, it wasn’t clear if it was hers, but Jones was glad she was still in command.
“What are you orders, Major?” shouted Jones.
“We can’t hold this area, get to the vehicles and mount up, we’re heading for Brest! If we can rendezvous with the 2
nd
Armoured and make use of the cover of the city, we might just have a chance!”
Jones nodded and turned to relay the commands to his men. Every instinct made the Captain wish they were heading east towards the rest of their forces at Rennes. Despite this, he realised both the importance of protecting the civilian population and also of holding ground. If the invaders could get a hold on the mainland they would gain a major advantage.
None of the men wanted to accept the fact that they were at war, but it was the new reality of their lives. Jones sent the command out across the radios and they began to run for the vehicles. They left many dead soldiers in their wake, carrying all the wounded they could.
Arriving at the vehicles, Jones could see that half of his company was already loaded up, many were wounded, there were not many left to load up. At a quick glance he estimated the losses to be thirty percent of the company, with many others being walking wounded. He stood up on his RDV and looked back towards the beaches now out of view. Smoke still bellowed from the wrecks there. They were joined with a number of fires on trees and foliage that had ignited from the high heat energy pulses of the enemy.