The Fall of Night

Interlude One: Tick… tick… tick…

Tick… tick… tick…

They waited.

In Belarus, in Serbia, in Algeria, in Russia itself, they waited. Soldiers checked their weapons obsessively as they waited for the dawn; their commanders checked their intelligence and battle plans, some of them wondering if they would be worthy commanding officers, others, more relaxed, tried to sleep. Missile crews checked their missiles carefully, ensuring that all of them had their guidance systems locked onto their targets, hoping that nothing would go wrong at the worst possible moments. Under the waves, Russian submarines made the final GPS checks to ensure that their targeting data was up to date, while aircraft revved their engines on hundreds of runways across Russia.

Tick… tick… tick…

In the darkness of the European night, commandos moved closer to their targets, preparing their weapons for action. In every major European city, other commandos prepared their strikes, to unleash terror and destruction right across Europe. In hidden bases, human voices spoke hatred unheard since Cain murdered Abel, inciting a hatred that would soon burst out into the streets. In nondescript rooms, cyber-warriors prepared to hack into and disrupt countless computers right across Europe; the population would wake to find themselves trapped in a nightmare, from which they would never escape.

Tick… tick… tick…

Warships moved silently under the waves, closing in on their targets; Naval Infantry prepared themselves for the desperate dash across the water. Hunter-killer submarines moved closer, their targets long identified and selected; their captains waited impatiently for the countdown to reach zero. Others kept their ships well back from any risk of detection, waiting for the final moments before they moved in for the kill. They would not miss their targets; surprise would be absolute.

Tick… tick… tick…

Thousands of targets had been designated; thousands of separate acts of sabotage planned. High overhead, cold mechanical eyes peered down, refining the information now that it was too late, while other objects moved into firing position in the dark of space. The intelligence had been better than any Russian had dared to expect; the Europeans had taken almost no precautions for the first total war of the 21^st Century. Europe was asleep… and by the time it awoke, it would be too late.

Tick… tick… tick…

Zero…