Battle Earth I

Chapter 4

Arriving back on Earth was not quite the victory parade that any of them had imagined, but it was a relief to be back in a hospitable atmosphere and amongst a sizeable military force. They landed outside the Military Hospital where medics were waiting them to help them. They had fourteen killed and nineteen wounded. Major Taylor walked down the ramp to be met by General White as the medical orderlies carried and assisted the injured. The General smiled at seeing the Prime Minister with the Major.

“Good work, Major. As you can imagine we need an immediate debrief, have your men get food, and then re-supply immediately. The base is on Alert One, all combat troops to remain armed at all times.”

“Good work? We’ve come back with our tail between our legs, Sir.”

“You made a tactical withdrawal in the face of superior odds, Major. Now please, follow me, both of you.”

Taylor nodded to Captain Friday to carry out the orders he’d overheard and proceeded to follow the General, climbing aboard his command car with the Prime Minister remaining at his side. Riding through the base the atmosphere was a far cry from what they’d known before departing. There was no larking about, no games being played, no fitness training. A serious tone had swept across the men and women of the base. They all went about cautiously with a weapon close to hand.

General White’s driver pulled up outside the briefing hall where he’d first heard about the troubles just over a week ago. The last thing he expected was to be returning there with news of an alien invasion and a number of his company dead or wounded. Taylor had always hoped he would handle himself well in a combat situation, but this was not a real test of the theory.

Reading combat reports he’d found many accounts of officers freezing under pressure or getting their men pointlessly killed. His first real test had been in far from favourable circumstances, despite carrying out his mission exactly as ordered. It was not what he would call a successful mission. Losing men and women he had trained with weighed heavily on him. He wanted to swear he’d not lose another, but he also knew it was not how a war could be fought.

Security outside the briefing hall was higher than ever, but not just with base personnel. Security from the UEN forces as well as Eastern soldiers and plain clothed security guarded the perimeter.

“What is this, Sir?”

“An emergency gathering. We’ve got all the major key players here.”

Mitch had hoped for something a little more low key, but he knew it was too much to hope for. He stepped off the jeep, still wearing his full armour and with weapon in hand. He’d ordered his men to stay in full battle attire until the end of the mission. They had witnessed enough of the unexpected to be caught with their pants down.

He threw his rifle back into the jeep, content in the knowledge that he was in a safe position. He still maintained a handgun on his body, in keeping with the base security condition now in place. None of the security guards, in uniform or not, made any attempt to question him on entry, knowing rightly not to stand in the way of General White.

The room had been hastily set up in a round table layout. Unlike the crowded briefings he was used to, less than fifty people were in there. They were deep in conversation, but went silent upon his entry. The General led Taylor right up to his own seat and addressed the room.

“This is Major Mitch Taylor, from the mission previously discussed. Major, before you are Presidents, Prime Ministers, Generals and envoys from all the major countries and joint forces in the world. We will take a full briefing later, but please, give us a concise overview of the enemy.”

Taylor looked around the room as they all stared back at him. He had addressed crowds on a regular basis in his career, but faced with the cutting silence and having to address the most powerful men and women of the planet, was daunting. His mouth was dry, but finally he found his words.

“The unidentified enemy made no attempt at communication, nor responded in any way in the attempts we made. They attacked relentlessly. Their smaller ships use a type of chameleon camouflage tech. Their ships, both large and small, are faster than anything we have in space. Their soldiers wear heavily armoured suits which stand over two metres tall and use some kind of energy weapons which burns through the best of our armour at close range.”

He looked again at them all, but there was no response, no questions.

“Our small arms could only damage the enemy in a few number of weak points. Based on what I have seen, they intend to conquer our entire civilisation. I saw no mercy, no intention to enslave our people or take hostages. They are coming for us.”

The room was still eerily silent as everyone tried to digest the difficult information they were being dealt. Finally the President of the United States stood up.

“Thank you, son, you’ve done a fine job. I’d hope we’d not need you for further combat duties, but I am sad to say it is almost certain that we will. Be sure to provide the General with any recommendations on equipment and I will do my best to get it supplied on an emergency basis.”

“Thank you, Mr President.”

“That’ll be all, Major, please see to your wounded and be ready for a full debrief when I am done here,” General White ordered.

Taylor saluted and strolled back out of the room, leaving the Prime Minister with the rest of the delegates from around the world. Stepping out into the daylight he was greeted by a most unexpected sight, Captain Charlie Jones.

“Major, you look like hell!”

Neither man saluted the other. They were beyond the point where either felt it was necessary. Their countries’ regulations did not strictly require it of foreign personnel either. Instead the Major outstretched his hand in friendship. The British Captain studied his burnt armour in surprise.

“What are you doing here, Captain?”

“Additional security detail for Brigadier Dupont of the EUA. So they gave you a hard time I hear?”

“They? Haven’t we got a name for them yet?” asked Taylor.

“Well our intelligence is still lacking. The word ‘aliens’ is floating around the base, but none of the top brass is keen to entertain the notion. Many are still holding onto the idea of it being some terrorist or extreme faction on Earth that is trying to flex its muscles.”

“Not a chance, you should have seen them, Charlie. They resemble nothing that exists on Earth or any of our bases and colonies.”

“Word has it there’s a far larger force en route for us, any idea how long they’ll be?”

“Based on what I’ve seen, we’ve got a few days at most until their main force gets here.”

“Christ, so we could be war before the week is out?”

“Sorry, Charlie, but you’ll have to excuse me, I’ve got a number of wounded that I need to call on before the General starts his debrief.”

“Of course, good to see you made it out.”

Taylor nodded and continued on to the General’s jeep. He climbed aboard, much to the surprise of Sergeant Gibbons.

“Take me back to the hospital, Sergeant.”

The man tried to turn and argue with the Major, but when he made eye contact with Taylor it became clear that it would be folly. If nothing else, the officer looked ready to strike him if he didn’t do as ordered.

Visiting the wounded was a painful experience for Taylor, not only having to see men he considered friends in pain, but to know that many more would follow them when they went back into action. He could see that many officers and politicians still believed that they could avoid war, but he knew already that it was a conflict they could not avoid.

The rest of the day was spent in a briefing room with General White and several other staff. They went over the same events time and time again. The reality was that he did not have much more to say than he’d said hours before to the worldwide delegates. There was nothing he could say to them to convey the spine chilling evil that the enemy invoked. At every opportunity the interrogators tried to find a way to support their theory that they were mere humans with advanced and experimental technology.

Finally Taylor was released to go back to his quarters to rest for the night. The base was still on high alert and that meant guard duties for all units on base, with double security at the entry points. He staggered into the officers’ block. The tall apartment building housed all the officers of his battalion. Their individual homes were a decadent luxury compared to the accommodation of the rank and file. He tapped in his security code to the entry pad and went into his hallway. He stopped abruptly to at the sight of the lights being on. Even if he had left them on, they automatically shut off an hour after leaving the room empty.

The Major’s hand reached quickly to his handgun and drew it into a two-handed grip. Adrenaline flowed through his body and his heart pounded. After the frightful slaughter he’d witnessed on the Moon colony, the thought of his own home being invaded was deadly. He took the bend around the hallway leading to his living room, quickly snapping around the corner with his pistol held ready to fire.

Fearing the worst, he was met by Parker sitting on his sofa with a cold beer in her hand. He sighed as he lowered his pistol, realising that his paranoia would soon lead to a heart attack. The beautiful Sergeant was still wearing her BDU trousers tucked into her bulky combat boots. She wore a tight fitting tank top, hugging her toned body. She looked like she’d come right from a day’s work, but had let her lightly curled hair down over her shoulders. She sipped back on her beer casually and finally spoke as he stood speechless.

“Not here to kill you, Major.”

He lowered his pistol and slipped it into the holster fitted to his leg. He knew that it was as romantic a gesture as he’d ever see from Eleanor. There were no candles, no mood lighting and no fancy music. He didn’t mind though, he simply didn’t have the energy to put up with such complexities.

“You know this is a bad idea, Sergeant?”

“Yes, Sir,” she replied.

“And yet you’re still here?”

“The world’s going to shit, Sir. We’ll probably be in combat within days, may as well make the most of the free time we have.”

Taylor relaxed and felt his shoulders lower slightly as his body accepted there was no longer any danger, at least in the form of an attacker. He went over to the fridge and opened the door, looked at what little it contained. He reached for a beer, but as he did so he felt Parker’s hands on his back, wrapping around his body. He knew it was a mistake to fraternise with anyone he worked with, let alone an NCO, but he was too tired to care about the dangers.

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.

“The vast vessel which has been approaching us is now just out of Earth’s orbit. It has however, not stopped. All sensors suggest that this country-sized ship is going to break into our atmosphere within the next hour, which we have now designated UFO1.”

He sighed and looked around the room as everyone stared at him.

“As of this time, we still have no idea of the enemy’s tactics or intentions. However, what we have seen so far would suggest a hostile intent. This unknown force is technologically advanced and highly capable, we need to avoid war if at all possible. For now we focus on defensive measures only. I want all ground troops ready to move at a moment’s notice. Air cover will be in effect at all times for the foreseeable future.”

The General looked down at the datapad in his hands. It was clear that he was surveying what little information he had and feeling helpless to act.

“For now we can do nothing but wait and watch. We are as ready as we can be. ROE are to not fire unless fired upon. Let’s not start a war over a misunderstanding. That’ll be all!”

The officers shuffled out of the room in remarkable silence. Nobody had anything left to say. Many were left speechless at the very idea of an alien invasion, others were letting their imaginations run wild with the possibilities.

Forty-five minutes had passed and Taylor’s company had been posted half a mile outside the perimeter of the base. They had parked up the three trucks and two jeeps they’d been able to wrangle from the motor pool. It was a tight fit for the entire company to be carried in just five vehicles, with marines hanging off the sides as they drove. However, they were lucky, many units were entirely on foot, patrolling in the soaring heat.

The Major had ordered them to a halt a few moments before on the top of a small ridge overlooking the base and a small town in the distance the other side. He was sat on the bonnet of one of the jeeps, looking up at the sky and waiting to see the dreaded vessel. The piercing rays of the sun were putting him to sleep, until the radio of the vehicle rang out.

“Base to all units, UFO1 will be entering the atmosphere in approximately one minute!”

Taylor shrugged off his sleepiness and slipped off the vehicle’s bonnet onto his feet. None of his men said a word. Most had already witnessed the savage and ugly enemy, but they were still intrigued to see the vast phenomenon.

The company could only watch in awe as the vast vessel burst through the clouds to the west. It must have been hundreds or even thousands of miles away, but was clear for everyone to see. The ship was a dark charcoal, almost black. It did not have the smooth lines that a human vessel would use for entering the atmosphere, but the harsh outline of a city’s silhouette. They could make out little detail from the distance, except its vast engines. It was continuing east and well away from their base, a stark relief for all.

Taylor heard chatter coming from the vehicle, he walked back to his jeep to see that Suarez had got the news channel feeds on its display screen. He watched silently as cameras from all over the eastern seaboard tracking the behemoth as it soared easterly towards the Atlantic. The marines circled around the vehicle, as many of them as possible watching the screen, the rest listening quietly to the news anchor’s dialogue.

The news channel was electric in its excitement over the situation. The idea of extraterrestrial life was a dream come true for reporters. The marines of D Company knew better, in that nothing good would come of a hostile force landing on Earth.

Taylor and the rest of his unit were fixated on the screen. An hour had passed as they watched the continued video feeds. The press kept repeating the same things, not having any real information to give beyond the actual footage of the immense craft. It was covering ground at an immense speed and heading right across the Atlantic. It was not long before the news agencies lost all trace of it and went back to repeating the footage they had.

As the team watched open mouthed, the radio cut in and Taylor was suddenly brought back to reality. He was being called back to base, while his men were ordered to continue a sweep of the area for the next two hours before returning to base.

“What do you think they want you for, Major?” Silva asked.

“Probably to ask me yet more questions that I cannot answer. Price, Kwori, you’re with me. The rest of you, I know there doesn’t appear to be an immediate threat, but we don’t yet truly understand what we are dealing with. From now on you act as if under wartime conditions, be very vigilant!”

He jumped into the driver’s seat as the other two men climbed aboard. He knew that he could no longer go anywhere alone. Not only could he not risk it as a company commander, but he was more than a little fearful of what could happen if he did. His experience on the Moon had shown that they needed substantial firepower to take down one of the heavily armoured enemy, but at least three guns were better than one.

Major Taylor found himself in yet another meeting of high-ranking officers. However, this time was different. They had some information to discuss, rather than just grilling him about the same matters again and again. The General had a map of the world up on the large screen at the end of the briefing table.

“It appears that UFO1 has come to a halt in the mid Atlantic. Unconfirmed reports are coming in that it has landed on the surface of the ocean. Now, let’s just consider what this means. To call this a ship is a joke. Aerial shots have shown that since stopping, the vessel is expanding outwards. They have just created an eighth continent on our planet,” said White.

“Has anyone made any attempt at contact?” asked General Smith.

“Communications in every way have been sent to the vessel. Every government has ordered its military to show no signs of hostility. So far we have heard no reports of any successful contact.”

“General, this is a prelim to invasion, it’s just a larger scale version of what we saw on the Moon,” said Taylor.

“I am well aware of that, Major. But at his stage military action is not our decision to make. We follow the chain of command just as you do.”

“Sir, the more time we give them to get established, the harder a time we are gonna have at holding them back. We should be preparing for full-scale war. We need to be equipping our troops with heavier guns and getting air strikes organised, nuclear if necessary!”

“Major! That’s enough. I do not disagree with your assessment, but until we are given orders to do so, we will maintain our current alert level and be ready to respond to whatever orders are received.”

A Lieutenant walked into the room and quickly went up to the General, passing him a datapad. The General studied it then looked up.

“The USS Doyle is just a few miles out from the landing zone of UFO1 and is attempting to make contact as we speak. We have video feeds from the deck.”

The General pressed a few buttons and the map in front of him turned to a live feed from the bridge of the frigate. They could not contact the crew as they were in direct communication with the Pentagon, but they could see everything that the Navy crew could see. They gasped at the sheer vastness of what was there. The enemy vessel dominated the view ahead of them. Several parts of the ship were moving and expanding. It held still in the water like a landmass. The tall metal-like superstructure was a hundred metres above the surface. To those watching, it appeared as if a huge iron wall had just divided the Atlantic in half.

The entire room watched in awe and fear. For five whole minutes they watched the muted feed, seeing nothing more than the vast artificial island and occasionally the crew of the Doyle shuffling about.

“What the hell is that?” asked General White.

The officers squinted to look at small objects above UFO1.

“Fighter craft, the Doyle needs to engage its air defences immediately!” shouted Taylor.

“We cannot risk war!” Smith shouted.

“We are already at war, General!”

They turned back to the monitor just in time to see the two craft approaching and then light erupt from them. Seconds later the video feed cut off. They had no means to contact the Doyle to check its status, but they already knew what the answer would be. General White turned back to the table of officers with a grim expression on his face.

“It has begun, the Battle for Earth.”